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After visiting Hot Springs Village we are seriously considering relocating. We spent some time there 2 years ago and it has been on our minds ever since. The Village seems so peaceful, beautiful and safe. Here's our concerns. We are 65 and 70 yo, so at this age this is a HUGE change for us, and we have no family in the state at all. So we're wondering how easy it is to establish friendships within the village considering the size and layout of the Village. Do people meet by joining clubs? Is there a fee to join a club? Is there anything like a morning coffee club that allows people to get to know their neighbors?

We're members of Calvary Chapel church, and are also wondering about the churches within the Village. We would like to become active in a similar church for worship and to meet people. Do most people do their grocery shopping at Walmart or the local pantry grocery? Is there enough shopping and services (restaurants, hardware, doctors) available nearby that it isn't necessary to travel to Hot Springs? We are wondering about the convenience of living so far from a city.

We've been following the newsletters and are aware of the upcoming vote and possible increase in fees. Any comments from people that have recently relocated to the Village? We have so many questions, but this is a very big change in our lives and we're trying to gather information before making a decision to move across country. Thank you in advance for your time!

Last edited by RetirementReady; 10-02-2014 at 03:20 PM..
Reason: I didn't mean the frown!

We moved to the Village last summer. Maybe a little different situation because we are a little younger and still working.

First bit of advice, subscribe to the weekly newspaper. You can read it online, but you have to subscribe.

There are several other retirement communities in Arkansas. Look at Bella Vista, Fairfield Bay, and Cherokee Village. Bella Vista especially as it is in NW Arkansas near the Fayetteville/Roger/Bentonville area.

As far as meeting people, we have a neighborhood get together coming up Monday evening. There are clubs here for any interest you can imagine. There are LOTS of churches in the village, you should be able to find "your brand".

I know you've been here before, but I recommend that you spend some time deciding where in the village you want to live. The village is a big place and it's 14 miles from the east gate to the west gate. If you will want to go into Little Rock a lot, then being near the east gate would be preferable. But most of the stores, including Wal Mart, are near the west gate.

As far as grocery stores, we have the Wal Mart and a Cranfords at each gate. The east side Cranfords is newer and nicer, they both have high prices. In Hot Springs we like the Kroger and Harps grocery stores, but only go if we are in town for something else. They have started a weekly farmers market in the village too.

We have a nice hardware store, a Sears tools/mowers/appliances store, auto parts, auto service, lots of doctors and dentists, banks, a carpet/flooring store, barber shops, hair styling, just about everything you need. The Benton/Bryant area (Little Rock suburbs) are 45 minutes to the east with about anything else you can imagine.

Hot Springs is 30-45 minutes away, depending on what part of town you're going to. Hot Springs has about anything you'll need, lots going on, lots of restaurants and it's very oriented towards the out of town tourists.

Some of the things we've noticed about living here (we came here from the DFW area)
- everything runs at a slower pace here
- if you rely on fast food a few times a week, you're out of luck here, Sonic is it
- lots of restaurants both inside and outside the village, and they are all about done by 8pm
- we really like the peace and quiet and sense of security inside the village
- I belong to a fishing club, dues are $10 a year my wife belongs to a couple of ladies clubs that get together for dinner, wine tasting, etc.
- golfing is the big thing here, more money is spent on golf courses than everything else combined, seems that way anyway. My wife is a golfer, I am not.
- the lakes in the village are very nice, but the fishing can be tough.

Thank you for taking the time to answer some of my questions. They've been helpful as we consider this move. We didn't know about the hardware store. Also hearing about the neighborhood get togethers and the abundance of churches is also helpful. Also, we didn't find that many restaurants within the village, so we are very glad to read about that. The dues for the fishing club are very reasonable, so hopefully it won't cost us very much to join a few clubs. We will definitely subscribe to the newsletter, too. That's a great suggestion.

So I'm getting that most shopping is done within the Village, or just outside. That's good news. We prefer to west side of the Village, or the center location.

The move itself is something we don't look forward to because it is physically draining. Once we are there I believe we'll be happy as you are.

This afternoon I met a Lady who leased a home and moved to HSV a year or so ago and is well pleased. She is from a big city and said the hardest adjustment she has had to make is not being able to "run down the street" and get anything she wanted/needed. She admitted that at HSV she can get about anything she needs, but it isn't the same. She said she is adjusting and is happy she moved.

Thanks for letting us know about the used furniture store. We will definitely need it. Now we're faced with deciding if it makes more sense to just sell everything and buy when we get there rather than paying to have it packed and moved across the country. It is so expensive to move everything. And we're not able to do it ourselves, and with no family on that end to help, all assistance will be paid help.

Here's what I would do if I could....there are several condos for sale, fully furnished, for pretty low prices. The monthly payment would be very low. I would not move furniture across the country....I would buy one of the furnished condos, live in it as is until I could find a house to buy, and then put the condo in the Village Villas rental program or on VRBO (Vacation Rentals By Owner....that's how we found the condo we rented). The one we found through VRBO stays rented pretty steadily...I don't know about the Village Villas. Or you could just rent it out monthly.

You could be slowly gathering up new (or new-to-you) furniture for your house in the meantime.

I'm not incredibly business-minded, as I've never had any money to invest, so others may shoot reality holes in my plan.

most condos in vacation settings, sell furnished. people buy them, use them a few years, then sell them furnished like they bought them. the last house i sold, was mostly furnished and it was not in a vacation area. i just don't get attached to furniture, moreover, i hate moving it.

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